A new report on Calgary’s housing market shows that prices are expected to stabilize through 2017 as supply is expected to even out with demand.
The Calgary Real Estate Board released its Market Forecast Report on Wednesday and says that unemployment and job outlook will heavily affect the housing market.
The agency says that sales in Calgary are forecasted to be 18,335 units, a three percent increase over 2016, but a drop in the long term forecast.
The change will result in more balanced conditions and ease the downward trend in prices.
"This year is about moving away from extremely challenging conditions," said 2017 CREB president David P. Brown in a release. "The transition is going to take some time, which means sellers need to stick with the fundamentals of pricing their homes correctly against other comparable product in the market. There's still lots of choice out there for buyers, but major price declines are unlikely in most segments."
CREB says in its report that near flat home prices will continue well into 2017 until inventory levels ease.
The board also says that net migration is also expected to be well below normal levels and slower new home starts will hinder Calgary’s supply.
A lot of Alberta’s recovery hinges on the stability of the energy sector and overall labour markets.
The stability in the energy sector is based on the price of crude oil rising above $50 US per barrel, the regime of President-elect Trump, opposition to pipelines in Canada and the improvement of local economic conditions.
Officials say Calgary will see a 0.8 percent growth in prices in detached homes and a 0.5 percent growth in the price of attached homes.
Apartment prices will drop in the city in 2017 by two percent, the report said.
You can read CREB’s full forecast here.
